UAE stock markets stage relief rally

Stock markets in the UAE and wider Asia staged a relief rally after reassuring signals from the US Federal Reserve, which had sparked a bounce on Wall Street in the final hour of trading there Tuesday.

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In Dubai, Emaar Properties was up 3.2 per cent to Dh2.84 a share. Arabtec Holding was up 3 per cent to Dh1.34 a share. Tamweel jumped 3.5 per cent to 81 fils.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index was up 2.1 per cent to 1475.43 points, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index was up 0.4 per cent to 2588.28 points.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 Index was up 1 per cent to 9038.74 points. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 1.8 per cent to 19688.41 points. The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index, or Sensex, was up 1.6 per cent to 17135.86.

The moves came after stocks surged broadly Tuesday following the Fed's pledge that it would hold short-term interest rates near zero for at least two more years to support the faltering US economy.

The Fed's statement signalled that it had all but written off chances that the US economy would see robust growth anytime soon, and the policy announced Tuesday is unlikely in itself to spur significant growth.

Elsewhere in the region, Kuwait's measure lost 1.2 per cent to 5882.20 points. Bahrain's index lost 0.7 per cent to 1265.38 points. Oman's index gained 0.6 per cent to 5539.83 points. Qatar's benchmark lost 1.7 per cent to 8070.69 points. The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index was down 0.8 per cent to 6008.67 points.

halsayegh@thenational.ae